The Lutheran Hour
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"Now What?"
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Text: Acts 1:7-9
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Grace, and mercy, and peace to you in Jesus, who empowers His witnesses to bring His Gospel that all might have God’s free gift of life and salvation, forever. Amen.
When people read the Book of Acts, they tend to get caught up in the actions of some of the Disciples or the intriguing people in the recorded events. But a careful read of the book is a reminder that what you’re seeing through its pages, is not the unique wisdom or power of a particular people, but the very power and purpose of a particular Savior, Jesus, still in action in this world.
The Book of Acts is a testimony that God’s Word is still at work. Even though Jesus ascends to heaven, the very power of His Word continues to work as it is carried to the world by simple fishermen and other uneducated men and women in the power of His Spirit. Millions will come to faith because the Word of the Risen-Ascended Lord Jesus brings people to their knees, not in fear or subjugation, but in the awesomeness of worship, freedom, and faith in Him.
In our text, Jesus ascends to heaven, to take His rightful position of power over all. He is the One who has satisfied the justice of the Father and literally met the eternal needs of the entire world, bringing it eternal life as a gift.
Jesus, Himself, now unleashes these believers with His Good News for all. He unleashes them on the world so that the world might come to faith in Him through their testimony.
What an incredible moment, what a monumental time in human history. As I see the Disciples standing there with their mouths hanging open, I can only imagine what I would have been thinking had I been standing there in their place. Just try to imagine standing there with me, with them, watching Jesus ascend into the heavens, utterly mind boggling. This Babe of the manger, this One who hung on a cross, now ascending before us as the One who not only controls the wind and the waves, but also reigns in Heaven as my Lord and Savior. I can only imagine them thinking, “Now what? Now what?”
Just before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the end of the earth.”
I think that’s the big question looming as these Disciples stand there gazing up into heaven, now what?
But, the question is not really hard to answer because Jesus keeps things simple in our lesson for today. We are to be “witnesses” of Him, just as those first Disciples were, to the end’s of the earth. Witnesses! People who “tell it like the have seen it and heard it.” Witnesses! People who are committed to speaking the truth in love for those who ask.
Now what? Now we get to be witnesses of this Jesus to anyone who will listen, that’s what. In this regard, not much has changed for God’s people in the last 2000 years. We gather each Sunday to be empowered by Christ’s Spirit-filled Word at Christian churches all around the world, so that we might not only be edified, but so that we might also be empowered to testify to the One who is the center of our lives, now and forever.
As witnesses, then, we get to testify to others about this Jesus, who He is for us and who He is for all!
And there is so much to tell isn’t there? I think that the Disciples started to remind each other about all the things that they had seen and heard about this Jesus. There was so much to tell for them and for us.
Jesus is the Promised One; Jesus, the Messiah, Jesus, God’s anointed Savior; the Babe of Bethlehem; the King of Kings; the One who turned water to wine, who brings celebration to life, yet who also turned the moneychangers out from the temple by force: He is the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life; the Living Water; He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; He is the Resurrection; He is the King who washes feet, who serves servants, who suffers crosses and judgment so that sinful, guilty people can be saved. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the One who is coming again to judge the living and the dead.
Oh, there is so much to talk about when you’re talking about Jesus. And as you think through these things, even these few things, you are reminded again and again, that He was and is all these things for you and for me.
It’s so simple sometimes. As believers, we get to remind ourselves about who this Jesus is, and we get to testify of Him to others so that others might not only be amazed, but believe and be blessed, too.And don’t forget then, in our joyful sharing with others, sharing about our need for Christ and our faith in Christ, He can bless that testimony, He can bless that sharing of His Spirit-filled Words for others, too. Keep it simple. He can bless your witness of Him to others.
I’m sure that those first Disciples were scared and nervous that day. They were probably wondering how they were going to “testify” to others about Christ, from Jerusalem, their home, to the very ends of the earth, places beyond their imagination. That’s why those first Disciples needed to remember Christ’s promise to them that day, that they would receive the power of God’s Spirit to empower their witness, and that’s why we, too, need to “sit in the Presence of Christ in and through His Spirit-filled Word” that we might have the power to do what is beyond our capability as well to testify of Him boldly for other’s sake.
Having then that Spirit-filled apostolic Word with the power of the Spirit in your life, don’t ever say that you can’t be useful in God’s hands. God is the Potter, we are the clay, as the Bible says. He has “good works” prepared for us to do. He multiplies our successes and empowers us to deal with our failures.
Witnesses … don’t ever sell short what the Word of God, the Good News of the Gospel, can do through you to others.
For God has always worked through the least and the lowly to do great work for others. For the God of heaven empowers the powerless to speak on His behalf; He’s the One who gives voices to the voiceless and communicates His grace through people who themselves need it the most! Why? So that all can hear that God’s Good News is not merely a word of human empowerment for this moment, it is a Word of God’s empowering grace for eternal life!
Max Lucado in his book, The Applause of Heaven, puts it like this:
The announcement of Jesus’ birth went first to shepherds. They didn’t ask God if He was sure He knew what He was doing. Had the angel gone to the theologians, they would have first consulted their commentaries. Had he gone to the elite, they would have looked around to see if anyone was watching. Had he gone to the successful, they would have first had to look at their calendars.
So he went to shepherds; men who didn’t have a reputation to protect or an ax to grind or a ladder to climb. Men who didn’t know enough to tell God that angels don’t sing to sheep and that Messiahs aren’t found wrapped in rags and sleeping in a feed trough.
Lucado continues, “If you ever journey to the Holy Land, there is a small cathedral outside of Bethlehem that marks the supposed birthplace of Jesus….You can enter the main edifice and admire the ancient church. Or you can kneel down to enter the quiet cave where a star embedded in the floor recognizes the birth of the King. That’s right, to make that journey, you have to stoop. The door is so low that you can’t go in standing up.”
The same is true of knowing and testifying of Jesus. You can see the world for all its worth…standing tall, – – but to witness the Savior, to be a witness of the Savior, you have to get on your knees. So, while the theologians were sleeping….and the elite were dreaming and the successful were snoring, the meek were kneeling. They were kneeling before the One only the meek will see. They were kneeling in front of Jesus.
Our testimony begins on our knees as well. In worship of the One who is magnificent for us and for all, millions still will come to faith because the Word of the risen and ascended Lord is still bringing people to their knees, not in fear or subjugation, but in the awesomeness of freedom and faith.
Jesus said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the end of the earth.”
So now what? Now what? Witnesses in the power of the Spirit to the ends of the earth, that’s what!
I like the phrase, “To Jerusalem, to Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus sure stretched their imagination, didn’t He? These men had barely been around the block, let alone around the world. He sure is stretching their imagination. Well, is He stretching yours and mine today, too? Absolutely. But no guilt trips! No bowed heads in shame about what we can’t do and where we can’t go. Jesus is merely pointing out that His Gospel in our lives, our witness as His people can’t be bound. It’s going to get out!
We get to be people who by our testimony of Christ to others, we are people who ride along with that Word as it opens up our hearts, first in our neighborhoods (our Jerusalems), then in our communities (our Judeas), then on the other side of town (our Samarias), even to lands beyond our reach (the ends of the earth).
Witnesses, we go where the Word leads. We go where people who need that Word, we go where they are.
Going where people are….that’s not only a geographical issue, it is a spiritual issue, too. We go were people are in need. We come alongside of sinners who are struggling with their guilt and shame. We journey to them as Christ does to us…We go where His Word goes. Like Jesus, we seek to meet unbelievers where they are.
It has been said, that “According to one count, in the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, they record 132 contacts that Jesus had with people. Six were in the Temple; four in the synagogues and 122 were out with the people in the mainstream of life.
We go where the Word goes with a message that encourages us even as it offers hope to others.
People often think that “witnessing about Jesus to others” is a very sophisticated and wordy event. But many times, it is merely living life a different way than others, or sharing a comforting word when others pay people no mind. Witnessing of Jesus in the day-to-day things of life, it lets people realize that this Jesus is the Key to all things for us. When they see that, they want to know Him.
The radio show, “Focus On The Family” recently aired this true story recounted by Dr. Bob Reccord, president of the International Missions Board:
He spoke about…..”A pastor friend in Texas.” He said of this friend, he was in a hurry one day. He had to go to the mall for some items, go to his daughter’s school to pick her up, take her home, get to a Deacons meeting, and then spend the evening in counseling sessions. Once in the mall, he saw an advertisement on a music store window that said, “2 CDs for $9.99.”
He loved music so much that he decided he just had to take advantage of such a good deal. So, he went in and he picked up 2 CDs that he’d really wanted, and he went to the register to pay for them. He laid his money down, even as he got involved in a conversation with some of the other customers. You know – talking to everyone around him – as pastors often do.
With the CDs paid for and the receipt in the bag, he picked up the bag and his change and out of the mall he went. When in the car, though, he noticed the receipt and the extra change in his hand for the first time. The clerk had charged him $1.99 instead of $9.99 for those CDs. His first thought was he didn’t have time to go back in there and get it, this thing, fixed.
But a small voice kept saying to him, “You don’t have time not to.”
So, he went back in. He stood in the same line until it came to his time to talk to the clerk once again. He said, “Look I’m in a hurry. You made a mistake. The sign says $9.99 and you charged me $1.99. Please make this correct so I can get on with what I have to do today.”
She said, “Sir, I didn’t make a mistake.”
He said, “Sure you did. There’s the sign; here’s the receipt. Please make the correction.”
She said, “No, sir, I didn’t make a mistake.”
He said, “What do you mean?”
She said, “For 17 years I’ve been out of church. Recently, my life has been falling apart and I needed to get back to church. I looked around at what church was closest to me. I found the name of the church, I went there Sunday, I slipped in and sat on the back row. The pastor that day was speaking on integrity.
“Sir, it happened to be your church. And when I saw you in my line, I wondered if this was something you preached on Sunday or lived out on Monday as well. And I determined to find out.”
Then she said, “Sir, I don’t even know the right questions to ask, but I know that whatever you’ve got I need.”
That’s the power of the testimony of the life of faith lived out in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and wherever the Lord takes you. Do you think that this young woman would have ever gone to church again if this pastor had not gone back in?
Our witness, even in the everyday events of our lives, makes a difference in other lives, too, because our Savior means everything for everyone, not just for us.
Jesus said it, so it must be true. We will be His witnesses to the world. As witnesses, we have a lot to say about what Jesus means for us and for all. For in Christ, all can have a love that is beyond description; a life that can never die; a righteousness that can never be tarnished; a real peace that is beyond explanation; a rest in a chaotic world; a joy that is beyond mere happiness; a hope that endures and never disappoints; and yes, Spiritual resources that can never be exhausted.
I’ll witness to that!
What a day! What a day in the life of those Apostles. What a day that Ascension Day of Jesus must have been. Those Disciples were just beginning to realize how beautiful their lives could be for others as His witnesses. It’s okay to be awed by this Jesus. It’s okay to realize that the power of such a testimony is beyond your capabilities. Just keep it simple. Remember who He is. Be open to whomever He brings into your life. And remember that He has answered the question, “Now what?” when He commissioned you in your Baptism, to be His witnesses in your homes, your neighborhoods, your communities, your jobs, to wherever His Spirit-filled Word takes you.
Amen.LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions and Answers) for May 20, 2012
Topic: Baptism, A Requirement For Believers Or A Means Of Grace?Announcer – Now, Pastor Gregory Seltz responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. A listener writes, “Pastor Seltz, in the story of Philip converting the Ethiopian Eunuch, we read here about an adult who first believes, before he is baptized. Why then do we, along with most Christians, baptize infants before we know if they believe?” So, this is a “which comes first” type of question.
Seltz: Well, first, Mark, before discussing which comes first or not, the key question is “What is a sinful person’s status before God, infant or adult?”
Announcer: Why is that important?
Seltz: Well, when most people start speaking about “coming to faith in Jesus” as a series of steps, they imply clearly, or not so clearly, that human beings can, even as sinners, make their way towards God.” And the Bible paints a very different picture than that.
Announcer: How so?
Seltz: In Ephesians 2, it says that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. It also says, in verse 3 that we are, “by nature children of wrath,” and that includes infants and adults. And it also says that faith is a gift of God. But there’s even more to think about here. In the Bible, there are two major themes, the Law and the Gospel.
Announcer: It’s all God’s Word, but Law and Gospel have radically different content and effects.
Seltz: Absolutely. The Law is a reflection of God’s holiness and it demands that we be holy, in thought, word, and deed. As we try to follow it, we actually become more aware of our sin, more aware of our utter helplessness before God as Paul teaches in Romans 7. The Gospel, then, is what God does alone for sinners. The Gospel, John 3:16, is His free gift of salvation through the Person and the work of Jesus for all who will believe (and remember, even faith is a gift.)
Announcer: And, how do you relate that to Baptism and this question of whether it comes before or after a public declaration of faith?
Seltz: Well, that’s a good question. If Baptism, then, is a Gospel word, then it is God’s work, God’s gift to us and not our gift to God. And that’s really important because it eliminates all this talk about what do I have to do first or second or third. In Matthew 28, Jesus talks about making disciples by baptizing and by teaching them. What He is clearly saying is that these are His things to create disciples. They are not things we do to have faith.Announcer: So, then, when we ask, “Is it hear the word, then be baptized, or baptize and then hear the word, you’re saying it’s not an “either/or,” or “this first, then second” type of question, it’s “both/and.”
Seltz: Right. The Bible says in Romans 10 that “faith comes by hearing, hearing the Word of God.” It is God’s Word that brings dead in their trespass sinners to gracious, life-giving faith.
Announcer: What about Baptism then?Seltz: Baptism is being washed in that Word, being washed in the powerful Name of the Father who created you, the Son who redeemed you, and the Holy Spirit who gives you life, same Word. Actually, think about it this way, the powerful Word of God comes in words you can hear, see, touch, and taste. Every way that we literally need to come to know things, God is there to share His Gospel, His Good News.
Announcer: So, don’t make a distinction about what comes first, what comes second, baptize and teach, teach and baptize.
Seltz – Mark, I couldn’t have said it better. We use the gifts that God has given us, His Gospel gifts to engender and to sustain faith. To the infant, we baptize, then teach. To the adult, we teach, then baptize. But we also make sure that people realize and celebrate both of these as God’s gracious gifts to them to create and sustain their faith.
Announcer: We should also include the Lord’s Supper as part of this discussion, in much in the same way.
Seltz: Right. We can even “taste and see that the Lord is good,” can’t we? For in that same way this “Word of God, Jesus, God in the flesh” comes to us through His Words, His water, bread and wine, so that we can know and believe in Him for life and salvation.
Announcer: Precious gifts that create and sustain God’s precious gift of faith no matter what your age. Very good. Thank you Pastor Seltz. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.Music Selections
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Crown Him with Many Crowns” sung by the Kammerchor of Concordia University-Wisconsin. Used by permission.
“Up Through Endless Ranks” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)
“Praeludium in D” by Dietrich Buxtehude. From Richard Heschke at the Hradetzky in Red Bank by Richard Heschke (© 1993 Arkay Records)